Mary Marlowe Sommer
District Court Judge
1st Judicial District
Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, and Santa Fe Counties
Year: 2014
Evaluation: Overall, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer received generally positive ratings. Many of her scores among attorneys and court staff improved since her last evaluation in 2011. Attorneys rate her positively for being punctual in commencing proceedings, being attentive to proceedings, maintaining proper control over proceedings, and for ruling on motions or cases in a timely manner. Among court staff, Judge Sommer was rated positively for behaving in a manner that encourages respect for the courts and for ensuring her personal staff is professional, productive and knowledgeable. Resource staff (e.g., law enforcement, probation and parole officers, interpreters, etc.) rated her positively for maintaining proper control over the proceedings and for ruling on motions or cases in a timely manner.
Experience & Education: Judge Sommer was appointed to the District Court in 2010. Prior to the appointment, she worked as a child support hearing officer, criminal and juvenile defense attorney, and an assistant attorney general for the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office. Judge Sommer received her undergraduate degree from James Madison University and her law degree from George Mason School of Law in 1983.
PERCENTAGE THAT AGREE OR DISAGREE THAT THE JUDGE EXHIBITS POSITIVE QUALITIES IN EACH CATEGORY *
| Attorneys (n=87, 48% Response Rate) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Exhibits Integrity | 83% | 12% | 5% |
| Fair and Impartial | 73% | 18% | 9% |
| Knowledgeable of Law | 58% | 31% | 11% |
| Communication is Clear | 71% | 20% | 9% |
| Appropriate Demeanor | 69% | 18% | 13% |
| Properly Controls Proceedings | 84% | 12% | 4% |
| Court Staff (n=54, 65% Response Rate) | |||
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Communication is Clear | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Properly Controls Proceedings | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Respects Court Employees | 64% | 18% | 18% |
| Jurors (n=23, 39% Response Rate) | |||
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Exhibits Integrity | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Fair and Impartial | 99% | 1% | 0% |
| Knowledgeable of Law | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Communication is Clear | 90% | 10% | 0% |
| Appropriate Demeanor | 97% | 3% | 0% |
| Respects Court Employees | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Fair and Impartial | 68% | 15% | 17% |
| Communication is Clear | 61% | 24% | 15% |
| Appropriate Demeanor | 73% | 12% | 15% |
| Properly Controls Proceedings | 85% | 13% | 3% |
| Respects Court Employees | N/A | N/A | N/A |
* On the tables above, the "Agree" columns are comprised of the strongly agree and agree responses. Similarly, the "Disagree" columns are comprised of the strongly disagree and disagree responses. The combined percentage of "Agree", "Disagree", and "Partly Agree/Partly Disagree" for each category may not equal 100% due to rounding error. "N/A" indicates that the category is "not applicable" because some populations were not asked certain questions.
PERCENTAGE THAT RECOMMEND THE JUDGE BE RETAINED OR NOT BE RETAINED IN OFFICE. ‡
‡ On the charts above, the "Retain" columns are comprised of the strongly recommend retain and somewhat recommend retain responses. Similarly, the "Do Not Retain" columns are comprised of the strongly recommend not retain and somewhat recommend not retain responses.